Personal Progress

The Church chose to discontinue the Personal Progress program (a program for Young Women to complete between the ages of 12-18) in December. They gave everyone six months notice the program was ending. Young Women currently working on it were encouraged to finish up the program, if they desired. Libby was about half way through, and decided it was important for her to finish. She had several more ten hour projects to finish, and she had to read the Book of Mormon. She finished her projects in plenty of time. She just couldn't seem to make any progress in reading the Book of Mormon.

The week after Christmas found her listening to the audio version of it set at double speed. 

She was able to complete all her projects and her reading with a whole day to spare.  The Stake cooked dinner for the girls and their parents to celebrate those that completed their Personal Progress and gave them each a framed picture to take home.

Libby is very proud of herself for completing it, and I am as well. I never did finish my Personal Progress when I was a Young Woman.  I love to see my kids out-achieve me!

5th Grade Fame

Grace was so pleased to be chosen as one of the 5th grade students to learn about plastics in the ocean, and then present the information to the younger classes. She worked on her presentation for weeks!

Her school hosted this display of ocean plastics (made entirely out of discarded plastic) made by the students at Timberline.

Grace and her friend Callie presented to the 2nd graders. The second graders were very, very interested in how big the Great Pacific Garbage Patch was in relation to everyday objects. Grace and her classmate fended a lot of questions regarding it. It's as big as Texas, for those interested.

Grace even got her name on a poster in the hall. I am very proud of all her effort.

Cold Weather

Cold weather means we have to entertain ourselves inside. 

We can make people piles.

Personal beautification is also an option.

Caught her before she got it all off.

Libby was happy to comply. Sam washed his face before I could get a photo.

Ethan isn't in to face masks, but he has been into origami. He usually makes it out of church programs and gives it to preschool kids during church. He was quite proud of his giant crane he made at the library, though. He then came home and made an itty bitty crane, as well. He needed a giant one and a bitty one.

We are doing okay entertaining ourselves, but we are all dreaming of warm weather, flip flops, and eating popsicles (instead of feeling like we are one).

New Zoo Exhibit

Zoo Boise hosted a free admission Saturday. Michael and I hemmed and hawed, screwed our courage to the sticking place, grabbed Grace and Sam and biked down. Ethan and Libby firmly excused themselves from the outing.

The zoo was, of course, packed with strollers, toddlers on leashes, and harried parents. Thankfully, Grace and Sam are old enough to not be tied to my wrist. It was mayhem, but still interesting.

The weather was nice, the animals were out.

The lion was majestic.

The monkeys were swinging.

When the kids were all little I felt like we lived at the zoo. It got very tedious. With a break of a few years, tons of new additions, and kids who aren't prone to toddling off, the zoo was once again interesting and fun.

Houses

We've made gingerbread houses for several years now. We have tried several methods and experimented with different building mediums. This year we went back to the basics. We had one night when we were all home in December in which to build the houses. I baked them several days earlier, but the whole thing felt overwhelming this year. We simply don't have the time that we used to. Also, I didn't bake them quite long enough, so the pieces were still a little soft when it came time to construct. The whole thing was just a little too much. I wonder how many more years this particular tradition will last. 

With that said, we did make them this year. They mostly turned out, and once we started assembling, it was mostly fun, with the occasional tears thrown in.

The houses each were unique this year. Ethan used extra pieces to make a balcony off his house, and add a Romeo (I've been corrected. It's Juliet in the balcony. Romeo was in the garden). He would like it noted his balcony lasted until I threw it out a week later.  My house didn't even last a day: there was a minor (read: complete) roof collapse.

Ethan's house, complete with a truck and smoke coming out of the chimney. The smoke did not hold up even as well as my roof.

Libby added several gingerbread men in ugly Christmas sweaters to her home. She was very pleased with the result. Her house also stood well and strong.

Sam struggled with his house, but with Michael's help eventually got it to stand. He added the inscription R.I.P Ted, in reference to this Studio C sketch. On a side note, my kids LOVE Studio C. I barely tolerate it. Each video starts out reasonably entertaining, but then they drive the joke into the ground.

When the roof on my house collapsed the next day, I found a single gingerbread man wedged under the fallen roof and learned the kids named him Ted. Ted had a rough time at our house this Christmas season.

An aerial view on the completed houses. Grace's is on the far left, she struggled to get it to stay, but she persevered. Mine is on the red plate, the structural damage to the roof already apparent.